Beacons in a Storm

Many sailors over the years have looked for beacons in a storm.  Those lights in a distance that guided while providing assurance that civilization was there somewhere, through the fog, wind, and rain.  We have seen the source of a few of these beacons over the last week or so, but on Friday, we were in need of a beacon or two, metaphorically speaking.

 Let me explain by digressing.  As many of you know, it rains a bit in the Pacific Northwest.  Okay, it rains quite a bit.  For those of us who have essentially lived in a high desert climate for the last decade, this place can give you a vague sense that you might be Noah as you start ushering the two banana slugs at your campsite onto your ARK/V.  To say it rained on Friday would be an understatement, even by Oregon standards.  The National Weather Service called it the first big storm of the rainy season and it brought more than 2 inches of rain in the matter of a few hours.  After that, it just kept raining.

(There were two of these guys, so we could have started our 2 by 2)

So there we were, packing up one campsite in the rain, driving in the rain, stopping for lunch in the rain, driving again in the rain, and wondering where to camp next . . . in the rain.  Our spirits were much buoyed by the kind gentleman who ran the all things pirate shop in Cannon Beach (Maggie loves pirates and now has a new eye patch to show it), when he said: "Yup, it will probably do this until April or so."  Great.  Excellent timing.  Apparently our hopes at beating the winter weather were misplaced.  We were feeling a bit soggy and not looking forward to another night sitting in Francine while listening to the rain together with Maggie bouncing off the walls.

Fortunately for us, our beacons did appear, in the form of cheese (remember, we're from the midwest) and a Best Western Parking lot.  While driving through Tillamook, we saw the Tillamook Cheese Factory, followed closely by a Best Western.  Hmmmmm, a plan begins to form . . . 

Lisa: "what did that sign say?"

Jay: "I think it said 'RV parking, pool, spa, breakfast, and WiFi for $19.95."

Lisa: "are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Jay:  "Yes, Oh my God, Yes!"

(The Beacon)

Understand, $19.95 for an RV campsite is a good price, in fact, it is really good.  With that price usually comes an average site, no pool, no spa, no breakfast, and spotty WiFi.  While parking in a Best Western parking lot seems pretty depressing at first, when you realize you can exercise your 4 year old in a heated indoor pool, sit in a hot tub while it pours rain all night, and then kill a rainy morning eating biscuits and gravy and watching people make cheese and ice cream, it just may start to appear like Walt Disney showed up from the beyond to point the way.

Just like that we set up in site #5 at the Best Western, walked the dog, ate a quick dinner, and were splashing around in the heated pool, rain and cold forgotten.  And when the sun "rose" the next day with the rain still falling it was off to the Tillamook factory for a great time.  See, they have been making cheese and ice cream in Tillamook for about 100 some odd years, and let me tell you, they are pretty darn good at it.  It was like a little slice of Wisconsin with an ocean view.

(Midwestern girls run for their cheese)

By the way, it is still raining, mostly.  Did I mention the rain?  Okay, one more time.  When it mists here, you go outside and say to yourself "it's hardly raining", then you head back in and wonder, as you wring out your clothes, how you got so wet.  Given the rain, we decided to head inland, to Portland.  Here is is supposed to rain a bit less (you can walk, rather than swim), and there is a greater variety of indoor oriented activities if necessary.  Plus, if it really keeps up, we will just keep heading south, where things should dry out, at least by the time we hit the Mexican boarder.

(The Reward)

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